"Pollution impact not restricted to Delhi alone," AAP leader Sisodia says BJP-led Centre resorting to rhetoric

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Monday put the blame on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led central government over rising pollution in North India.
Speaking to ANI, Sisodia said that air pollution is a national disaster, and its impacts are not restricted to Delhi alone.
"At present, the whole country is suffering from pollution. We have to look at pollution above politics, and the BJP also has to take it seriously. It is not a subject for which you can blame the Aam Aadmi Party only. At this time the whole of North India is in the grip of severe stubble burning. BJP has to understand that they have a government at the centre," Sisodia said.
"What has the central government been doing for the last seven to eight years?" he further asked adding that stubble burning has increased during the period.
The AAP leader said that the BJP government not taking any steps to curb pollution and goes about attacking opposition parties.
He further claimed that the stubble burning has increased in BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.
"Not only the people of Delhi but the whole of North India are facing problems due to air pollution," he said.
"What has their government been doing at the centre for so many years? ... Instead of blaming the Aam Aadmi Party, what is the central government doing? ... They should take responsibility and what will be achieved by mere rhetoric," the AAP leader said.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla today attacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Arvind Kejriwal for failing to address both the severe pollution in Delhi and the ongoing contamination of the Yamuna River.
Poonawalla said, "Delhi is setting new records in terms of air pollution every day... AAP and Arvind Kejriwal have done nothing in this; they just did politics."
Poonawalla accused AAP of not taking action against the growing pollution. He pointed out that the party, which once blamed stubble burning in Punjab for Delhi's pollution, has remained silent after coming to power in Punjab. "Earlier they used to blame stubble burning in Punjab, but when they came to power in Punjab, they became silent... Yamuna water is so polluted," he added.
Notably, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 in Delhi NCR from Monday, which saw the Air Quality Index (AQI) dipping into the 'severe plus' category.
This decision was taken after Delhi's daily average AQI rose sharply to 441 by 4 pm on Sunday and further escalated to 457 by 7 pm, which prompted an emergency meeting of the GRAP Sub-Committee.